Hooded seeding and sampling needle



March 8, 1966 w, G, DQRSEY ETAL 3,238,784

HOODED SEEDING AND SAMPLING NEEDLE Filed Jan. '7, 1964 l@ 1 a. gg 4;

United States Patent O HOODED SEEDING AND SAMPLING NEEDLE Warren G. Dorsey, Robert L. Willard, and Lord D.

Nickens, Frederick County, Md., assignors to the United States f America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Jan. 7, 1964, Ser. No. 336,323 2 Claims. (Cl. 73-425) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to needle-type apparatus for removably connecting one uid container to another, or for connecting a tube to a container, or for similar applications. Such apparatus should be kept clean and germ-free, the needle should be protected when not in use, and germs or bacteria being transferred by the apparatus should not be permitted to escape or become contaminated by other germs or bacteria. The present invention is intended to improve such apparatus.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a cooperating connecting device;

FIG. 3 is a modification of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1 an outer housing member 10 is telescopically associated with inner housing member 12 and has a hollow needle 14 rigidly connected thereto.

Inner housing 12 is detachably connected to the wall of a tank 20, or such, by use of bushing 16 threadedly engaging upstanding collar 18.

Resilient sealing member 22 is secured against movement at its upper end by pl-ug 24 and washer 25. Plug 24 has a flange 26 which acts as a stop for split ring 28. Ring 28 is carried in a cooperating recess 27 in outer housing 10. Ring 28 normally slides up and down on housing member 12 as the parts are telescoped, but ange-stop 26 prevents separation of housings 10, 12. Outer housing member may be telescoped downwardly to where ring 28 is just opposite annular recess 30 in inner housing 12. This permits split ring 28 to be pressed inwardly by inserting a tool into slot (or slots) 31. When ring 28 is pressed inwardly into recess 30, it disengages recess 27 in housing 10 and thereby permits housing 10 to be removed from housing 12.

Sealing member 22 is held in place at its lower end by plug 32 and washer 33. Recesses 35 receive a tool to screw bushing 16 tightly against flange 36. Thus the lower end of housing 12 can be clamped against sealing gasket 37. Gasket 37 is held in place by nut 38 and 37, 38 hold diaphragm 39 seated in collar 18.

A conduit, preferably a flexible tube, may be connected 3,238,784 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 to the top end of housing 10 at 40 for transfer of fluid to, or from, a remote location.

In use, Huid may be transferred thru the assembly and hollow needle 14 from 40 to tank 20, or reversely, by pressing housing member 10 downwardly to carry needle 14 thru diaphragm 39 as illustrated in broken lines. When the transfer operation is completed, housing 10 is raised to thereby withdraw needle 14. Diaphragm 39, of soft material, flows together to plug and seal the hole formerly occupied by the needle. With needle 14 withdrawn, bushing 16 is removed from collar 18 and thus housings 10, 12 may be removed. Noting FIG. 2, a plug 42 and O-ring gasket 43 may be used to close collar 18 against entry of foreign material.

It will be noted that needle 14, when withdrawn, is sealingly protected by resilient member 22. Thus, foreign matter cannot contaminate the needle, or contaminants on the needle may not contaminate surrounding objects or injure personnel.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG- 1 except that two gasket seals 46, 48 replace seal 22 of FIG. 1. This leaves an open but sealed space 47 into which hollow needle 14 may retract as member 10 is telescoped upwardly.

We claim:

1. A needle assembly comprising; a first housing member, a second housing member telescopically connected to said rst hosuing member, a needle lixedly secured to the rst housing member, sealing means in sealing relationship with said second housing member and in sliding sealing contact about said needle, and means for detachably connecting said second housing member to an internally threaded collar comprising a sealing diaphragm substantially in axial alignment with said needle, a gasket engaging said diaphragm, an externally threaded nut engaging said gasket and adapted to screw into the internally threaded collar, a llange on said second housing member, and an externally threaded bushing engaging said flange and adapted to screw into the internally threaded collar for sealingly securing the parts together.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 and a plug and washer secured in said second housing member securing said sealing means in said second housing member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,627,857 2/1953 Marcelli 141-130 X 2,839,152 6/ 1958 Tracht. 3,094,155 6/ 1963 Tarmasso 141-329 FOREIGN PATENTS 906,711 5/ 1945 France.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner- S. C. SWISHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A NEEDLE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING; A FIRST HOUSING MEMBER, A SECOND HOUSING MEMBER TELESCOPICALLY CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST HOUSING MEMBER, A NEEDLE FIXEDLY SECURED TO THE FIRST HOUSING MEMBER, SEALING MEAN IN SEALING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID SECOND HOUSING MEMBER AND IN SLIDING SEALING CONTACT ABOUT SAID NEEDLE, AND MEANS FOR DETACHABLY CONNECTING SAID SECOND HOUSING MEMBER TO AN INTERNALLY THREADED CELLAR COMPRISING A SEALING DIAPHRAGM SUBSTANTIALLY IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID NEEDLE, A GASKET ENGAGIANG SAID DIAPHRAGM, AN EXTERNALLY THREADED NUT ENGAGING SAID GASKET AND ADAPTED TO SCREW INTO THE INTERNALLY THREADED COLLAR, A FLANGE ON SAID SECOND HOUSING MEMBER, AND AN EXTERNALLY THREADED BUSHING ENGAGING SAID FLANGE AND ADAPTED TO SCREW INTO THE INTERNALLY THREADED COLLAR FOR SEALINGLY SECURING THE PARTS TOGETHER. 